Ho ho ho! It's that time of year again! Time for tree trimming, family dinners, Santa Claus, and, of course, holiday shopping! Some of you may be wondering what to get your favorite CH-ers (and favorite CH kitty owners). More importantly, what to get ME! Riley Dean! Heh heh. In these economic times, you may be torn between buying gifts for your friends and family (both two-legged and four-legged) or giving to your favorite animal charities. Well, guess what? You can do both! Here are a few online stores that not only have fun holiday gift items, but also use all or part of your money to help animals in need:

1. ASPCA Store - This online store has tons of stuff for both pets and pet owners. There are collars, books, clothes, toys, and even jewelry. They also have a Clearance section with items as low as $7. One particularly cool item is the set of Animal Rescue Gloves ($24.99). These are great to keep in your car in case of an emergency. You can put them on and safely help a four-legged friend in need of rescue. Maybe the best part is that 40% of the purchase price for this item (and most others) goes to the ASPCA, so they can keep rescuing, too!

http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/

2. Humane Domain - This store, which benefits The Humane Society of the United States (their website says that every purchase provides support!), has tons of cool kitty and people products. They even separate their merchandise into dog and cat sections! My favorite thing is the selection of those new novelty scratching posts I've been seeing around recently. They have scratchers in the shapes of footballs, bugs, whales, cheese, and even a DJ deck ($29.99-39.99). I think I should add that to my letter to Santa. I've been very good this year!  

http://www.humanesociety.org/shop/

3. The Animal Rescue Site - This charitable site (one of CharityUSA's Greater Good Network Stores) is endorsed by both PetFinder and FreeKibble (which is one of my mommy's favorite FREE donation sites). They have things like socks and sticky notes for as low as $3. There are tons of paw print themed items, eco-friendly products, and Fair Trade items. CharityUSA has wonderfully high purchasing standards (promising safety and freedom from exploitation) and their stores benefit a lot of other good causes as well. Check them out!

https://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/store/ars/category/307/all-about-animals

If you decide to do your pet holiday shopping in person at a major pet retail chain (such as Petco, Petsmart, or Pet Food Express), remember that many of them have deals to give donations to local shelters. They will accept donations at checkout (either a couple of dollars or a couple of cans of cat food), and they often have items for sale like stuffed toys where the proceeds go to either local or national charities.  

Also, if you decide to buy new bowls, blankets or toys for your CH-er this year, and the old ones are in good condition, why not drop them off at your local animal shelter yourself? They may be able to give them to a shelter pet in need.

That's all for now! Have a wonderful holiday everybody! Whatever you celebrate, stay warm, safe and happy!

By: Elise Murphy

 

Website:   http://charmcityanimalrescue.com/

Michelle's story is new and unique to this article as Michelle also runs Charm City Animal Rescue, a 501c(3) based primarily out of her home in Baltimore City, MD. Michelle started Charm City after fostering for several other organizations. Her mission started out as wanting to help some cats on the street near her house, but she quickly realized how in need the shelters are. She had a huge fear of shelters before, but now visits them all the time as 99% of the animals Charm City rescues now are from traditional shelters.

Charm City is foster based, and Michelle runs the group and fosters the majority of the animals. They rescue mainly cats, and every once in a while have the space for a dog. She's been trying to focus on special needs cats this year - all black, seniors, 3 legs, one eye, CH, etc.


 

Charm City is located in Baltimore City, MD, but has foster homes all over Maryland and one in lower Pennsylvania!

Home Statistics:

Humans: 1- Michelle

Michelle's Dogs: 3 - Danger (5yrs/m/german shepherd mix), Rudy (5yrs/m/mountain feist), Holly Berry (1yr/f/pitbull)

Michelle's Cats: 6 -Toby, Rocky, Piper, Oriole (one-eyed), Max, and Scooter - ages 2 through 12

Charm City Rescues @ Michelle's: 40 - 5 of which are CH, 2 are three legged, and 3 have one eye!

Michelle doesn't usually keep the special needs animals, although she really wants to keep all of them. She says she "absolutely adores rescuing special needs animals, it kind of adds a whole new meaning to the word rescue!"

Any Favoritism towards the "permanents?"  Michelle loves all of her fosters as if they were her own pets (and doesn't want to start a jealousy war!), so she doesn't play favorites...mostly. When she can, she makes sure her senior boy, Toby, gets some of her dinner if it's grilled chicken!

Overall interactions: A peaceful "pride," as long as everyone obeys the rule!

When a new rescue comes to Michelle/Charm City, she gives them "The Talk," which is basically: "Welcome to Rescue. You are here for as long as you need to be, and you won't ever be in danger for lack of space. You'll always have good food, fresh water and clean litter. You'll get treats, toys, fluffy beds, trees, towers, tunnels, and lasers. You'll get belly rubs, head bonks and chin scratches. Here, we only have one rule: No hitting. I can deal with anything else, as long as everyone is getting along. If you abide by the Rule, you can stay as long as it takes to find you a home."

The only time Michelle has needed to take extra precaution is with the CH kitties. Holly Berry, they 1 year old pitbull, sometimes has no manners and wants to lick the CH kitties clean.

Most cats are "free roamers," ones that are spayed/neutered, tested, vaccinated (including all boosters), dewormed, and given Revolution. Those waiting for treatments are kept in very large dog cages until they are allowed to free roam.

Siblings/BFFs:

Thaddeus (left) and Carolyn are two CH kitties that are either siblings, or married. They were in the shelter together, and they're the most bonded pair of kitties that Michelle has ever seen. Carolyn cleans Thaddeus from head to toe, and he melts in her arms. Thaddeus also seems to really like the younger kittens. He tries so hard to chase them, and seeing a CH kitty try to hide, stalk, and do the wiggle butt pounce is quite possibly the most adorable thing one can witness.

Wink, a one eyed kitten, is also great buddies with another orphan kitten, Freckles.

CH Kitty Additions:

Because there are so many animals at Michelle's house and so many coming in and going out of the rescue, it is always busy, chaotic, and noisy; but it's also a cats dream. There are toys and trees and towers and such everywhere! So once they overcome the initial shock of being around so many other animals, they become part of the pride, relax, start playing and having a good time.

Michelle tries to start new rescues in the spare bedroom with some of the really super affectionate and sweet "Walmart Greeter" cats, as she lovingly dubs them! It usually only takes a day or two for them to become comfortable, although sometimes she likes taking on the tough cases of very timid cats who need a while to adjust. In those cases, she makes up adoption songs and sings to them to bring them out of their shells!

How they help each other:

Technically, Holly Berry the pitbull (right) cleans all the special needs kitties (not that they want her to). Thaddeus watched the kittens run up the stairs so many times, that one day he just went up them. It took him a while, but he made it up there. He's now learned to lean against the wall for support when he goes up and down. Because of events like that, Michelle doesn't pity special needs animals. She believes they are brilliant in their ability to overcome a handicap.

 Interesting tidbit:

Michelle learned about CH kitties by accident, after having a rescue cat give birth to one a few years ago. She was pretty severe, could barely walk more than a step or two before falling and rolling. 

Michelle named her Lily Bug, and kept her for about 9 months before a local vet tech applied to adopt her. 

Michelle had tried to talk the 

adopter out of the adoption, telling her how hard it could be to care for her, how she sometimes rolls in her poop, 

or misses the litterbox and pees everywhere. But she insisted on giving it a try. Michelle bawled 

like a baby when Lily left, but it turned out to be the best home ever. Her new mom even built bumper pads that velcro onto the walls, to protect her from bonking her head too hard when she falls, a concrete water bowl holder so she couldn't spill it, and a toy that's like a child's mobile so she could bat at the dangly toys while lying on her back. Michelle was in awe of the lengths Lily's new mom went to for her, and decided that if there was a family who'd do that for Lily, then she would always help CH kitties when she came across them....and she's rescued at least 20 of them this year!!

What is Charm City's success secret in rescuing and adopting out CH kitties?

Michelle says "part of me wants to say that it's their personality and how hard they love people. But then I also adore watching them overcome a challenge, like stairs, or getting on a bed. These cats are serious champions, I think that's why they're so appealing. I don't really have a secret to adopting them out, other than to show people how amazing they are, and to tell them to not pity them. They are normal cats, they just wiggle!"

Little Shelter in Huntington, New York Hit Hard By Hurricane Sandy

 
West Side Cats in Youngstown Ohio is an amazing group who rescues many CH Kitties from the mild to very severe!  Thier rescue efforts of CH Kitties have been amazing when CH Kitties in other states had no rescue in sight, West Side Cats stepped up to the plate!  This year alone, the have saved 2 CH Kitties from New York, 3 from Indiana, 1 from Chicago and the countless CH Kitties and special needs in Ohio.

 CH Kitty MollyAnn, Proud Mom Joanne Gulino Switzer

This is Effie and it has been a long time since I have written for the Newsletter. See, it is so hard to write when your heart has grief in it, and I have been missing my sister, Lovey, so badly! Mommy says she is waiting for me at someplace called the Rainbow Bridge, but we cannot go see her, yet. She says that when we go to see Lovey there that we cannot come back, but that we will be there forever with her! It sounds like a wonderful place, but Mommy says we are not ready to go there, yet. She is right about that, because I like being here with my Fifi!

Oh, and now we have these two new kitties in our house, Shakey and Maggie. I'm not really sure that I like them much. Well, Maggie is okay, but Shakey is a brat! She walks around with her butt swinging from side to side like she is just ALL THAT! Back and forth, back and forth, walking down the hall! She swings that butt so far that you can't even walk beside her! Mommy says she has CH just like me, but I think she does it on purpose! She also picks on poor little Fifi! She should know that Fifi is the queen of the house and they should listen to her. Mommy says that it's because they are both calicos, but I think it's just because she is a brat!

Shakey and Maggie

She also is completely obsessed with Tiger! Anytime Tiger comes inside, she just follows him around and stares at him and sniffs him. He hisses and her and swats, but she just keeps following him around. And when he is not there, all she wants to talk about is Tiger this and Tiger that! Well, I hate to tell her this, but Tiger does not like her or her following him around!

Tiger also says that there is a new kitty outside that Mommy calls Smudge. Well, Tiger likes Smudge even less than he likes Shakey! He says that Mommy feeds Smudge almost all soft food and that Smudge still won't let Mommy pet them! Well, that Smudge is just missing out, because Mommy's cuddling is the best!

Well, I'd better go now, but I am sending two pictures along with this. The first is of me cuddling with a stuffed animal in one of our sleeping boxes and the other is of Maggie and that bratty Shakey! I hope you like them.